Melvin Benn, Managing Director of Festival Republic – the promoter behind London’s Wireless festival – has issued a personal statement defending the decision to book Ye (Kanye West) as sole headliner of all three nights of the festival this summer.
Benn condemns the rapper’s past antisemitic remarks while calling on critics to “offer some forgiveness and hope.”
Benn’s statement comes as the fallout from the booking continues to mount.
As previously reported by MBW, at least three sponsors — including headline partner Pepsi, spirits giant Diageo, and Rockstar Energy — have withdrawn from the festival since the booking was announced. UK government ministers are also understood to be reviewing whether to grant Ye permission to enter the country.
“I am a deeply committed anti-fascist and have been all my adult life,” Benn wrote. He noted that the kibbutz on which he lived for several months in the 1970s was later attacked on October 7, describing himself as “pro Jew and the Jewish state, while being equally committed to a Palestinian state.”
Benn did not shy away from the substance of the controversy, and drew on personal experience in making the case for the booking.
Benn’s statement in full is as follows:
I am a deeply committed anti-fascist and have been all my adult life. I lived on a kibbutz for many months in the 1970’s that was attacked on October 7th, am pro Jew and the Jewish state, while being equally committed to a Palestinian state.
Having had a person in my life for the last 15 years who suffers from mental illness, I have witnessed many episodes of despicable behaviour that I have had to forgive and move on from. If I wasn’t before, I have become a person of forgiveness and hope in all aspects of my life, including work.
What Ye has said in the past about Jews and Hitler is as abhorrent to me as it is to the Jewish community, the Prime Minister and others that have commented and – taking him at his word – to Ye now also.
“What Ye has said in the past about Jews and Hitler is as abhorrent to me as it is to the Jewish community, the Prime Minister and others that have commented and – taking him at his word – to Ye now also. “
Ye’s music is played on commercial radio stations in this country. It is available via live streams and downloads in this country without comment or vitriol from anyone and he has a legal right to come into the country and to perform in this country. He is intended to come in and perform. We are not giving him a platform to extol opinion of whatever nature, only to perform the songs that are currently played on the radio stations in our country and the streaming platforms in our country and listened to and enjoyed by millions.
Forgiveness and giving people a second chance are becoming a lost virtue in this ever-increasing divisive world and I would ask people to reflect on their instant comments of disgust at the likelihood of him performing (as was mine) and offer some forgiveness and hope to him as I have decided to do.
Background
Ye was announced as the headliner of all three nights of Wireless 2026 on Monday (March 30). The festival is scheduled to run from July 10–12 at Finsbury Park in north London — his first performances in the UK since he headlined Glastonbury in 2015.
The booking drew immediate condemnation from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who called it “deeply concerning,” and London Mayor Sadiq Khan, whose office said Ye’s past comments were “simply not reflective of London’s values.” Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey went further, calling for Ye to be banned from entering the UK altogether.
Australia revoked Ye’s visa in July 2025 after he released a track titled Heil Hitler in May of that year.
The Wireless sponsor withdrawals echo the wave of corporate departures that followed Ye’s 2022 antisemitic remarks, when Adidas terminated its Yeezy partnership with the artist, citing a short-term negative impact of up to €250 million on the company’s net income.
Festival Republic, which promotes Wireless, is a division of Live Nation. The shows coincide with the release of Ye’s new album, Bully, which he launched with two nights at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles last week.
Earlier this year, Ye published a full-page apology advertisement in The Wall Street Journal, stating: “I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.”Music Business Worldwide
